Tag Archives: invisible disability

Drawing SFxBerlin artist Rachael Jablo working on The Hysteria Project!

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Rachael Jablo working on art for The Hysteria Project drawn by Suzanne Forbes Feb 17 2022Such a treat to have a zoom visit with my friend Rachael Jablo, a fellow former Bay Arean!

I met Rachael here in Berlin, at Sadie Lune’s birthday party years ago. Even though we were in the Bay at the same time, and both knew Sadie among other folks, we never met there!

Thank goodness we connected here. I can’t imagine not knowing Rachael! Sick person baker artists rule! Due to both of us being chronically ill, we don’t visit IRL that often, yet our spiritual connection is amazing. And our techie husbands get along great too.

Rachael is creating an incredible collaborative storytelling project called The Hysteria Project.

“The Hysteria Project is a one-on-one storytelling project dealing with menstruation, reproductive, and pelvic disorders, illustrated by individual ‘portraits’ of their reproductive organs based on their stories. These life-size, intimate works start in a traditional darkroom where I use lace instead of negatives to make color prints that I cut up and collage onto a gold leaf background.” – Rachael Jablo

Uterus portrait by Rachael Jablo for the Hysteria Project of Suzanne Forbes with fibroids

Portrait by Rachael Jablo for the Hysteria Project of Suzanne Forbes’ menstrual system with fibroids

I told my fibroids story for the project and Rachael made a portrait of my uterus!

Isn’t it beautiful? You can read my story here, it has lots of swearing and so. much. blood. Other folks I know have also told their stories and had portraits made. Being listened to and witnessed by Rachael’s compassionate spirit is such a healing experience. Rachael describes how the project started here.

Rachael’s website, Rachael’s insta, The Hysteria Project website, insta and twitter.

The Hysteria Project is Funded by Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien.

I of course am funded by my  Patreon Patrons, who have my eternal gratitude and love for keeping me working, making art and documenting Berlin creators as a vaccinated but Covid-vulnerable disabled person.Rachael Jablo working on art for The Hysteria Project drawn by Suzanne Forbes Feb 17 2022 detail

Warteraum redux, second surgery setup sessions!

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D at the cardiologist waiting room by Suzanne Forbes March 22 2022My husband and I are medical system refugees.

Which is a type of economic refugee, although medical care obviously shouldn’t be tied to your financial resources. We moved to Europe because we needed to live in a place with socialized medicine. And two years in to our lives here, my hub had his first big surgery.

D at the cardiologist by Suzanne Forbes March 22 2022Now we are preparing for what we desperately hope will be his second surgery.

In the US, this simply couldn’t happen. The specialists who invented it are here, the recovery of many days in hospital just doesn’t fit the US model, the physical therapy he will need wouldn’t be provided – we couldn’t even dream of this in the US, even if money weren’t an object.

If you are a praying kinda person, please pray that we are able to get through the last couple German medical system hoops and get my beloved hub this surgery. His quality of life has deteriorated profoundly and he is in constant pain. I’m happy to sit in as many warteraums as it takes.

And I realize warteraums have become a whole area of my drawings here, not as big as the Unterwegs category, but still significant!

More about our first visit to the Trichterbrust surgeon here.

Drawing folks while I waited for the knee surgeon here.

Cyborg husband physical therapy fun here.

Waiting room at the immigration office here and here.

More medical waiting rooms here, here and here.

I am so grateful to my Patreon Patrons, whose monthly financial support makes it possible for me to continue making art and telling the stories of Berlin as a vaccinated but Covid-vulnerable disabled person.